Effect of the time characteristics of the Compton camera on its performance

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Uche, C.Z., Round, W.H. & Cree, M.J. (2011). Effect of the time characteristics of the Compton camera on its performance. Paper presented at the Engineering and Physical Sciences in Medicine and the Australian Biomedical Engineering Conference, Darwin, Australia, August 14-18, 2011.

Abstract

Purpose: The effect of the time characteristics of the Compton camera data acquisition (DAQ) system on the camera’s performance has been studied.

Methods: The GEANT4 simulation software was used to simulate radiation transport and interactions with matter. Further investigations were carried out by utilizing straightforward approximations to estimate the charge collection times and their relationship to finding coincident events, setting thresholds to reject noise, and the resultant impacts on the Compton camera performance.

Results: The results show that the time characteristics of the Compton camera DAQ account for about 17% and 13% reduction in detection efficiency at 140.5 keV and 511 keV, respectively, but made no significant difference on the Compton camera resolution.

Conclusions: Findings suggest that the detection efficiency of the Compton camera has been overestimated by previous investigators who did not predict count rate losses under clinical conditions.